NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Rising seniors and captains
Luke Houston (Pearl River, N.Y.) and
Tylon Smith (Manchester, Conn.) of the Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball team have been selected as members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches' 2013-14 Honors Court.
In order to be named to the Honors Court, a student-athlete must meet a high standard of academic criteria. Student-athletes must be a junior or senior academically and a varsity player, have achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher, matriculated at least one year at their current institution and be the member of a NCAA or NAIA institution with a NABC member coach.
Houston averaged 8.8 points, 6.6 rebounds (team-high), 2.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game (team-high) for the Owls this past year during its run to the Elite Eight. He was named to the Northeast-10 Conference All-Championship Team for his play in helping the Owls claim their first-ever tournament title. Houston also ranked No. 14 in Division II in total steals in 2013-14. He has also been recognized for his work in the classroom previously as a Northeast-10 Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll selection.
Smith had a decorated campaign both in the classroom and on the court this past year. He earned Third-Team Academic All-America honors from Capital One and the College Sports Information Directors of America in addition to his First-Team Academic All-District selection. On the court, he was named the Most Outstanding Player of both the NCAA East Regional and the Northeast-10 Conference Tournaments. He finished second on the team in scoring with 19.0 points per game and led the Owls in assists per game (5.0). Smith was also selected to the NABC All-District team and the Daktronics All-East Region team in addition to First-Team All-ECAC and All-Northeast-10 Conference laurels.
A record number 895 student-athletes from 335 colleges and universities earned NABC Honors Court distinction.
Southern Connecticut finished this past year with a record of 30-3 and reached the Elite Eight for the second time in school history. Along the way, the Owls also won their first-ever Northeast-10 Conference regular season and tournament titles.
